fundamental right
21
3.3
- noun
- /ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəl raɪt/
- Specialized
:
derecho fundamental
- The right to free speech is a fundamental right that is protected by the Constitution.
- guarantee fundamental rights
- fundamental rights of citizens
- protect fundamental rights
Now, what do these fundamental rights involve?
- Now, what do these fundamental rights involve?
- Is it because even cabin boys have certain fundamental rights?
- So, you know, there's a sort of conflict there between, as Nadia says, people claiming that some fundamental right is foreign to their culture.
- And it's sort of ruling from the courts and from the Supreme Court in particular, that education was a fundamental right.
- that that is a fundamental right, that it's OK to disagree. It's better to be able to disagree and have a dialogue
- But as far as getting rid of our fundamental right in our Constitution on guns, I am not in favor of that.
Examples
-
The Czechoslovak Charter, for example, makes the right to own property a fundamental right, subject to certain social obligations.
Academic text (1991) -
Marriage is a fundamental right.
-
We shall not rest until we have won for our children their fundamental rights of freedom, justice, and security.
Academic text (2000) -
Basic services, electricity and water should be fundamental rights.
-
One of the fundamental rights to be protected is that of private property.
Academic text (2012) -
Because of the nature of the social compact, all citizens shared their fundamental rights equally.
Academic text (2002) -
The First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution guarantees religious faith as a fundamental right of the individual.
Academic text (2011) -
Number one: The city disregarded the fundamental rights of residents by not telling them they were going to vote on the ban.
-
To correct the denial of this fundamental right, this Wednesday, I will send to Congress a law designed to eliminate these illegal barriers.
-
The authors believed that citizens had a fundamental right to relationships marked by "fraternity and honesty."
Academic text (2013)
Synonyms
∞
2.3
Permission given by law or moral rule to have something
561
3.1
A right the law gives people to be treated equally and have basic freedoms
417
2.8
A basic freedom or protection every person should have
84
4.1
A right that a country's most important law gives and protects, for example free speech
57
4.6
A basic right protected by law against unfair government action, like freedom of speech or religion
48
3.2
Something a person can do or have because the law allows it
How Essential
- Formal
84
4.1
- Specialized
21
3.3
∞
2.3
444
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a basic legal right' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'fundamental' (essential, core) with 'right' (a legal or moral entitlement). This adjective+noun compounding follows normal compositional semantics and has close parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning despite any specific legal nuances.
Etymology
Fundamental right comes from the image of a building's base: fundamental means 'foundation' and right means 'legal claim'. So, like a strong foundation that keeps a house standing, a fundamental right is a basic legal support that protects what people need in life.